Kerby Jean-Raymond

Age: 31

Occupation: Founder and creative director of Pyer Moss

Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

His Favorite Room: Between designing for Pyer Moss (which earned him a Council of Fashion Designers of America nomination) and collaborating with Reebok on a sneaker line, Mr. Jean-Raymond hardly spends a day at home, which for now is a rental in a cluster of high-rises on the Brooklyn waterfront. “What keeps me grounded while I’m here is cooking,” he said, showing off his gleaming kitchen and built-in fridge. “But I haven’t gotten attached to it.”

Image

A pair of sneakers Mr. Jean-Raymond designed for Reebok. CreditSasha Arutyunova for The New York Times

So you’re eating on the road these days?

Too much. I’m trying to get a balance, man. Because I have been home this month maybe six days. I spend most of my time at La Guardia Airport. It’s awful. My hope about moving someplace else or buying something is that I can start a project. Like build out a kitchen.

With your career on an upswing, do you feel you have to go for it right now?

I do. For a while I gave up the concept of home. I gave up the concept of having things. That’s why you look around here, I don’t really have furniture. Besides those stools you’re sitting on, I literally have four pieces of furniture.

Image

When Mr. Jean-Raymond gets home from a work trip, he goes straight to the windows. "I just take in the view. And the view is cool, too," he said.CreditSasha Arutyunova for The New York Times

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in East Flatbush. I’m from Brooklyn. I drop by my dad’s house all the time. That’s where I feel home. I got my keys. I just walk in wherever.

What got you into cooking?

Believe it or not for how skinny I am, but I used to be a bodybuilder. That’s when I started cooking because I had to make my meals. But recently, I cut down on eating meat. I watched that stupid movie on Netflix that ruined everyone. It changed my cooking habits because I was so used to cooking Haitian dishes like tasso and jerk chicken and oxtail.

Image

Cooking makes Mr. Jean-Raymond feel grounded and at home, he said. CreditSasha Arutyunova for The New York Times

What’s your secret ingredient?

Turmeric. I put turmeric in everything, especially breakfast. And pink salt. It’s a lot better for you than typical white salt.

Image

The Basquiat poster has been with the designer wherever he's lived, going back to his teenage bedroom. CreditSasha Arutyunova for The New York Times

What’s the significance of this Basquiat poster?

That’s the original poster from the movie. It was one of the first things I bought on eBay. I cherish it. That’s the thing that’s been with me since my college dorm, my father’s house, it’s been everywhere. I just got to reframe it. It still has the same original frame from when I was 16 years old and poor.